Illness: Psychosomatic and Physical.

This was the title of this week’s “start the week” programme on radio4. This is a subject that I have been interested in since I first came across it during my general nursing training. At that time, at Stoke Mandeville Hospital the paediatrician in charge of the case seemed very authoritarian and lacking in the understanding I have since come to which is also expressed in the programme that even though the pain or weakness may have no physical cause, It is still real!

Two anecdotes illustrate the power of the mind with respect to our bodies. The first is a case taken from the practice of Milton Erikkson upon whose work, Neuro Linquistic Programming is based. A patient he was seeing absolutely refused to believe that the paralysis of her right leg was psychosomatic. Milton agreed with her that he probably wouldn’t be able to take away her paralysis in the session he was about to have with her. What he did using hypnosis was to transfer the paralysis to the opposite leg. After he had done that she was able to believe that the paralysis was not medical in origin and he was then able to use hypnosis to cure her.

The second was a woman who has had an above knee amputation speaking on the BBC iPM programme. To relieve an itch in her non existent foot she reached down and scratched the area and this works!

If you come to me I will not promise a cure. I do promise that I will believe your lived experience and work with you to find a way to improve things.

To book an appointment for your body and or your mind email dave@cambridgearomatherapy.com